[ Paul Whiteman Orch. ], "The King of Jazz"
Theme Song: "Rhapsody in Blue"
Here's a photograph that Paul Whiteman, sent to his newest 'crooner' - Bing Crosby, - whose picture is shown below in the 'Rhythm Boys' Photo. Another interesting photo is one of the early Whiteman Bands, with still another of his 1919 Band,--how very young he looks, - holding his violin. The next photo shows Whiteman with future bandleader Bob Crosby, and a few of the men who would later be a part of Bob Crosby's Bob Cats. L-R: Bob Zurke, Bob Haggart, Eddie Miller, Ray Beauduc, Paule Whiteman, and Bob Crosby. Listen now to that 1919 Whiteman orchestra playing "I Never Knew", recorded Dec. 12, 1920, and digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland.

Whiteman's orchestra figured greatly in one of the very earliest "Talkies", the Universal Pictures release entitled "King Of Jazz". Watch now this excerpt of the Whiteman band playing a George Gershwin work that the band originally debuted in New York city in the late 1920s.   "Rhapsody In Blue"   This clip opens with a fantasy "clarinet solo" dance by Jacques Cartier, and then the Russell Markert Girls. Dance enthusiasts will also enjoy the opening "Voodoo" dance sequence Another interest is the Piano work of Roy Bargy, one of Whiteman's principal arrangers.

Overview
Paul's father, Wilberforce Whiteman, was the Superintendent for Musical Education in the Denver, CO, Public School system. As such, he was responsible for developing the musical talents of a great many other youngsters, including Jimmy Lunceford and many others. In 1918, Paul formed his own first band for a venue in San Francisco, but later became most active in the Los Angeles area. When, in 1920, his band began their Victor recordings, and this August 19, 1920 recording (here digitally re-engineered) of "Japanese Sandman" helped to make his fame National. In 1923, a musical instrument company named him 'King of Jazz' as part of a promotional event, and this sobriquet would remain with Whiteman forever. This is a curious fact for even though his band never ever played "Jazz", he did often employ some of the very best Jazzmen of the day, including the legendary Bix Beiderbecke on cornet. Here (digitally re-engineered) is Whiteman's 1923 orchestra playing "I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise", a George Gershwin tune, with the lyric by B. G. DeSylva, and Arthur Francis. ('Arthur Francis' was a name that George Gershwin's brother Ira used in his early days.) The popularity of his recorded music (arranged by Ferde Grofe) endures to this day, and probably always will endure.

Brief Chronology:
=================
1915
As a 28 yr old Viola player out of the SF Symphony Orch., enraptured by the sound of jazz and filled with ambition to play it, Whiteman joined the John Tait Band. Tait fired him after one day when he found that Paul couldn't play jazz. (But during that one day, Paul met Ferde Grofe, -Tait's pianist.)

In 1917 US Army turned Whiteman down due to an over-weight problem, but U.S. Navy picked him up as a band leader.

1918
He formed the Paul Whiteman Orchestra for the Fairmont hotel in SF., and played dates in and around LA before settling in the Hotel Alexandria in LA at the end of 1919. His pianist was Ferde Grofe, who was Whiteman's own age, and who had also been a viola player with the LA Symphony Orch. before concentrating on the piano. After 3 years as pianist with Paul, he became the bands full time arranger/composer. Other pianists who followed Grofe were Roy Bargy, Lennie Hayton and Ray Turner.

Whiteman's orchestra was the first to:
     Popularize arrangements
     Use full reed and brass sections
     Big Band to play in vaudeville
     Big Band to travel to Europe
     Big Band to feature a girl singer, - Mildred Bailey. (Al Rinkers sister.)
     Big Band to feature a vocal trio, the Rhythm Boys (Al Rinker, Harry Barris, Bing Crosby)

Virtually every musician of note, played in the Whiteman Orchestra at one time or another. Bing Crosby began his career as part of a trio called the Rhythm Boys, - (l-r) Bing Crosby, Harry Barris, and Al Rinker. (Barris was singer- with Jimmie Grier Orch.- Loyce Whiteman's husband, and Al Rinker was singer Mildred Bailey's brother - and brother and sister were part Native-American). Here's another photo of the Rhythm Boys, - (l-r) Harry Barris, Bing Crosby, and Al Rinker. Whiteman introduced George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", in 1924 at the Historic Aeolian Hall Concert, in New York City.

   [ Dick Wickman Orch.]
Theme song "I Want To Be Happy" j
Wickman started his first band in 1941, in Omaha, Nebraska, but it was a short lived entry. The following year, Dick started his military service.

After his Army discharge, Dick went into business. A few years later he resumed his musical career. The orchestra toured the Iowa; Nebraska and Dakota ballrooms for several years, becoming a mid-western favorite in the process. At this time, Dick was alsdo producing records under his own label.

In 1965, Wickman started a half-hour radio show on a Lincoln, Nebraska station, which lasted for three years. The show was actually considered for syndication in other markets, but this never materialised.

The band continued into the early 1970's, but by this time, Dick had acquired other business interests, and the band became a part-time vocation and rarely traveled.

   [ Herb Wiedoeft Orch. ]
b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. d. May 1928, near Klamath Falls, OR, USA.
Trumpet
Theme song "Cinderella Blues"
Here's a photograph of the Herb Wiedoeft Cinderella Roof Garden Orch., from whence came the name of their theme song. Wiedoft was playing trumpet in his home town of Los Angeles, CA, in the early 1920's. But his break came when he was booked into Los Angeles' Cinderella Roof. His long long engagement there, and his Brunswick Recordings, firmly established the band's reputation on the West Coast.

It's an often overlooked fact, but, Herb formed his band in the very early 1920's and the band continued a successful career right through the "Roaring" Twenties, and into the big band era in the late 1930's. A remarkably long stand, covering near 20 years and several differing styles of music, with a world wide economic depression thrown in for good measure. Two future leaders Clyde Lucas and Jesse Stafford, got their band experience with Herb.

The were three 'brother' teams in the band; one was the three Wiedoft brothers - Herb, Gerhardt on Bass, and Adolph on Drums. Within the family, Gerhardt's nickname was Gay - not Guy as often erroneously reported (back then, there were no sexual implications associated with the name.); the two Rose brothers were another team, and then there was the two Lucas'. Clyde Lucas later formed his own successful band. The band's sidemen included: Larry Abbott, Fred Bibesheimer, Dub Kirkpatrik, Clyde Lucas, Leon Lucas, Joe Memoli, Gene Rose, Vincent Rose, Gene Secrest, Jess Stafford, Jose Sucedo, Adolph Wiedoft, "Gay" Wiedoft, Rudy Wiedoft, and Art Winters. The vocals were handled by sidemen Clyde Lucas, Dub Kirkpatric, and the Wiedoft Trio.

Herb's brother, Rudy, had a greater reputation than Herb and had left the band to become one of the better known New York City saxophonists. The band went on it's only east coast tour a little while after Rudy left. Another of the sidemen, Clyde Lucas also left the band and formed an orchestra of his own in the early '30's.

In May 1928, while traveling between Medford and Klamath Falls, OR., Herb was killed in an automobile accident. Jess Stafford, the trombonist, took over the band, and moved it's homebase to San Francisco, CA. The band spent the next three years as house band at the Palace Hotel, and then became a theater pit band for several years. When Stafford died of a heart attack in 1937, they disbanded.

The Band was active in the midddle 1920's into the early 1930's, and did record.

   [ Rudy Wiedoeft's Californians ]
b: Jan. 3, 1893, Detroit, MI, USA, d. Feb. 18, 1940, Flushing, NY, USA.
In 1841, Adolphe Sax invented the Saxophone, in Brussels, and patented it in Paris in 1846. (He patented fourteen different sizes of the instrument.) With the exception of the 'C-Melody' sax, all are transposing instruments. In 1915, the saxophone was introduced to Jazz bands by Rudy Wiedoeft, and he became the instrument's foremost soloist. In 1917, he made the very first jazz recording, "Canary Cottage", that utilized the Sax. Also, on August 2, 1917, Rudy led his own band, the Frisco Jass Band, and recorded his own tune Umbrellas To Mend, here digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland. Parenthetically, we should note that the Frisco Jass Band, may be another one of those bands formed by Gus Haenschen, musical director for Brunswick Records. (Please also see our entry for Arnold Johnson, and his recording with the Frisco Jass Band.) Rudy particularly liked the C-melody sax (pitched betwen the alto and tenor), and this model became immensely popular during the 1918-1930 period with musicians such as Frankie Trumbauer and many others. It was even commonly found leading the choir in churches and Sunday schools.

Rudy, brother of bandleader Herb Wiedoeft, was probably more responsible than anyone for the saxophone being accepted as a musical instrument. During the period from 1900 to 1930 in America, there was a saxophone craze which made the electric guitar phenomenon of the 1960's look like nothing in comparison. The one person who best personifies this period was a large musical part of the 1920's, Rudy Wiedoeft. The fact that Wiedoeft is almost forgotten now takes nothing away from his essential role in establishing the saxophone in the public mind. During his short life, Rudy Wiedoeft recorded over 300 record sides for all the major labels - many being his own compositions - and influenced generations of saxophonists after him.

Famed pianist Oscar Levant once descibed Rudy as "...the world's greatest saxophonist.." Even crooner Rudy Vallee switched to the saxophone, after hearing some of Rudy Wiedoeft's recordings. (Wiedoeft's records must have had a most profound effect on Vallee because they caused him to re-enter and complete his high school education, as well as entering the University of Maine.

Rudy Wiedoeft was born in Detroit, MI, to a large family of musicians. He began his musical studies playing in the family orchestra which toured as a professional ensemble. He began as a violinist, but had to switch to the clarinet after an injury to his bowing arm.

As a young man, he discovered the saxophone, and in 1918, he came to New York in the pit orchestra of the musical "Canary Cottage", where his playing was very favorably received by both the public and the critics. At this time, he began the long series of recordings with the Edison company which led to his world-wide fame. One of these recordings, "Sax-o-phobia", written in 1918, became the largest selling solo in the history of the Saxophone.

It was Rudy Wiedoeft who organized the first concert in America devoted entirely to the classical saxophone. It was held in New York's Aeolian hall on April 17, 1926. The concert was also broadcast to perhaps a million people on the radio, and featured classical transcriptions by Bach and Tchaikovsky as well as original works composed for the occasion.

The Stock Market crash of 1929 made Rudy's happy-go-lucky style somehow inappropriate to the hard times of the Depression in America. He moved to Paris, France for a year and toured the European capitals where his music was still highly appreciated by the public.

Rudy Wiedoefts' legacy to the musical world is more than just a collection of compositions and recordings. He has the distinction of having introduced the saxophone to American Jazz and Swing Musicians, and from there, to the whole world of Popular Music. Rudy Wiedoeft was just age 47 when he died at his home in Flushing, New York.
The BigBands Database Plus thanks Mr. Verne Buland for this entry on Rudy Wiedoeft.
Please also see Wiedoeft information under the Gus Haenschen Orch.

   [ Ran Wilde Orch ]
A little known orch that mostly played the Hotel 'rooms'.
No further info.

   [ Alec Wilder Octet ]
Here's a photo of Alec. Basically, Alec Wilder is recalled as one of America's great composers, having written many 'hit' songs of the 1930's - '40's era. He is also remembered for his magnificent book entitled "American Popular Song", which should be a part of every music lovers library. We have Alec also listed on our Tunesmiths Database, where you may find still more information on Alec Wilder, including a listing of his many songs.

His 'orchestras' were just a studio pickup groups. Alec was always experimenting with new ideas and concepts. He did some directing and scoring for a Mildred Bailey recording session. And in 1939, he expanded on this work by forming the Alec Wilder Octet. For this group, Alec did some neo-baroque scoring of modern rhythms for such instruments as oboe; cor anglais; bass clarinet and harpsichord. The compositions that he wrote for the octet had such imaginative titles as: "Bull Fiddles in a China Shop"; "Neurotic Goldfish"; "Amorous Poltergeist" and the interesting "Jack, This is My Husband". Alec did have a great sense of urbane wit.

   [ Midge Williams and Her Jesters ]
b. ca. 1908 (California) d.
Began singing as member of family quartet and toured the Far East beginning in the late 1920's. She worked in jazz clubs in China (1933) and Japan (1934). It is reported she made a series of records for Columbia-Japan in 1934 while working as vocalist for the Tommy Missman Orchestra. From 1934-1936 she worked on Los Angeles radio. It is reported she toured with Fats Waller during this time. In 1936 she was featured on Rudy Vallee's radio show. She made a series of recordings as Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters (1937-1938). They featured Raymond Scott, Frankie Newton, Buster Bailey, and Charlie Shavers. She also recorded with Bunny Berigan, Frank Froeba and Lil Hardin Armstrong. She did some touring with the Louis Armstrong Orchestra from 1938 to 1940 but did not record with Armstrong.
Recorded for: Columbia Japan, Variety, Vocalion
Information from a CD's notes (Thanks to Mr. Robin Lenhart)

   [ Whittall's Anglo-Persians Orch. ]
Actually the "Louis Katzman Orchestra". For more information please see our Louis Katzman Orchestra entry. The Whittall Anglo-Persians band was often heard on Boston radio stations in the early 1920s. Here's a photograph of the Band

In private correspondence, Mr. Michael M. Katzman, has noted that his grandfather - Louis Katzman, was:
       "....leader of the Whittall Anglo-Persian Orchestra. He is the
       gentleman standing on the right hand side of the photograph you
       have posted on your web page. The Orchestra not only performed
       on the Whittall radio program but recorded on the Brunswick label.
       When I was a boy (too many years ago)I took saxaphone lessons
       from Ted Gray who was also a member of the band. My father (also
       a musician and songwriter using the name Henry Manners) recently
       passed away, ........ Many of (grandfather's) recordings
       were with the Anglo-Persians. A number of the band members also
       served in house orchestras for Brunswick. "

Just a few of the over 81 recordings by Louis Katzman included such band names as:
       Atlantic Dance Orchestra (ca. 1920s)
       Brunswick Salon Orchestra (ca. 1931)
       Louis Katzman Colonial Orch. (ca. 1929)
       Louis Katzman Concert Orch. (ca. 1930)
       Louis Katzman Brunswick Orch. (ca. 1929)
       Biltmore Club Orch. (ca. 1929)
       Anglo-Persians Orch. (ca. 1927-1930)
       The Castillians. (1927-1934
       Louis Katzman and His Orch. (Mostly 1934)

Some of the Tunes that Louis Katzman recorded while leading these orchestras, include:
1925
Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream
You Flew Away From Nest

1926
Road of Dreams
I Dare Not Love You

1927
Dancing Tambourine
Paree
Sleepy Chinese
Kashmiri Song
Allah's Holiday

1928
Was It a Dream?
Chloe

1929
Dance Away the Night
A Thousand Kisses
Little Grey Home in the West

1930
The Toy-Town Admiral

1931
The Song of Songs
Trees

1934 (all recorded as 'The Castillians')
The Continental
Fascination
La Cucaracha
Inca Tango
Canto Indio (aka: "Dust on the Moon")
Carioca
La Cumparsita
Queja Pampera
La Rosita
Besame
Amapola

In addition,
"The Meanest Kind of Blues", recorded by Fletcher Henderson's Orch.,
       was composed by Louis Katzman
"Where the Volga Flows", recorded by Rudy Wiedoeft's Californians, was
       composed by Ley; David; Katzman
The 1926 recording of "Cushion Foot Stomp", a Clarence Williams tune was
       arranged by Louis Katzman

   Clarence Williams
Piano/Composer/Publisher/record producer
b. October 8, 1893, Plaquemine (suburb of Baton Rouge), LA, USA. d. Nov. 6, 1965, New York, NY, USA
Please also see his entry on our Tunesmiths Database
Overview:
Clarence Williams, was a pianist, singer, dancer, and composer. He was also a business manager for other Black entertainers, and an independent entrepreneur (who had his own Music Publishing firm). During 1923 to 1928, he was the artist and repertoire director for Okeh Records.

Before he was in his teens, he had decided upon a career in showbusiness and ran away from home to work with a travelling minstrel show. By the time he was 21 he had started composing, formed his first publishing company, and was married to Blues singer Eva Taylor. His early associates, as performers and/or in business, included New Orleans bandleader Armand Piron and composer W.C. Handy. First in New Orleans, then Chicago, and finally in New York City, Williams established himself as a successful publisher, an energetic record producer and a tireless accompanist to some of the finest Jazz and Blues artists of the day. Among Clarence's most notable recording sessions are those on which he was joined by Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet, while his accompaniment enhanced many record dates with singers Bessie Smith, Beulah "Sippie" Wallace, and his own wife. A dedicated promoter of the music of such pianist-composers as James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, his name often appeared as co-composer on works to which he may have contributed little that was creative. By the late 1930s he had decided to concentrate upon composing and, for a while, ran a business outside music. Even an accident that robbed him of his sight did not deter him and he worked steadily until his death in 1965. Clarence's legacy to jazz includes many songs that bear his name as composer or co-composer and that became standards, among them "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home", "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Royal Garden Blues", "West End Blues" and "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of This Jelly Roll".